I agree with the "clunky and cumbersome," but for me, the padded sticks allow the player to get rid of exactly the restraint that you mention. I don't want my guys getting too used to pulling an attack, I want them to have the feel of striking through the target, of putting their whole body into that attack. Later when we get back to rattan, we can pull the attack or hit full force, but they have the muscle memory of really trying to hit. Just something that seems to work for me.

On the other hand, I've found that armor (especially headgear) completely changes the tone of a fight, making combatants much more brave than they otherwise would be. It's good to use on occasion, but in my experience, people that spar with armor tend to do worse without it, so I wouldn't make armor standard.

On the other hand, I've found that armor (especially headgear) completely changes the tone of a fight, making combatants much more brave than they otherwise would be. It's good to use on occasion, but in my experience, people that spar with armor tend to do worse without it, so I wouldn't make armor standard.

Agreed, I also do padded weapon sparring with just racquetball glasses, to deal with just that. Though I must say that our heavy padded weapons can TKO someone through a fencing mask, so it still doesn't promote leading with your head.